Since the College Football Playoff began back in 2014, there have been four times that a conference has received two bids. The SEC has done it twice. Once in 2017 and again in 2021 with both coming by way of Alabama and Georgia. The ACC did it once in 2020 with Clemson and part-time member Notre Dame. And of course, last season the Big Ten received two bids in favor of Michigan and Ohio State.
There’s always controversy when a committee is selecting the teams that will make the CFP. Maybe that will all end with the expansion to 12 teams beginning in 2024. I doubt it though.
Either way, ESPNs Heather Dinich is already thinking about how things will shake out at the end of this season and she believes the SEC has the best chance at 51% to have two teams invited. That won’t be a shocker for most college football fans who believe that ESPN has a bias toward the SEC.
Dinich goes on to say that the Big Ten has the next best chance at 25% of getting multiple bids. She lists the ACC, Pac-12, and Big 12 at less than a 1% chance to get two teams in the playoff.
It's July. Of COURSE I'm already thinking about this … Ranking the college football conferences with the best chance at two playoff teams https://t.co/psCLwqdxN4
— Heather Dinich (@CFBHeather) July 13, 2023
Here’s the case she makes for the Big Ten to have a chance at two playoff contenders:
“The Big Ten did it last year, and Ohio State and Michigan have similar teams returning, with the most glaring exception being a new starting quarterback at Ohio State,” wrote Dinich. “The chances should be bumped marginally because Penn State has the talent and opportunity to join one of them in the debate. The Nittany Lions will have home-field advantage Nov. 11 against Michigan, where a win could create a three-way tie in the Big Ten East Division if Ohio State beats Penn State and Michigan beats Ohio State. Beyond winning the Big Ten, PSU’s ideal scenario would be to claim a win over eventual Big Ten champs in a three-way tie, or the committee’s highest-ranked Big Ten team.”
The committee has clearly shown favor to the SEC over the years. It would be much better to win outright than to leave your fate in the hands of a fickle group of people who all have agendas and biases, even if they say they don’t. Or — maybe more importantly — don’t mean to. It’s human nature.
Ohio State does not have an easy path to the CFP this season, but with all the talent in Columbus, the Buckeyes should be part of the conversation all the way to the end.
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